1. An inadvertently-written introduction to this post. Not a well-written or thought-out intro...just an intro.

2. TWO lovely days this week in which I could take Indy for a
walk. Count them: One-Two.

3. That my 10yo voluntarily went on one of the walks with me.
Ok, he kind of went voluntarily; I don’t let him stay home unattended, and Mr.
Always Random had to take the 12yo to basketball “grading” for team placement; don’t
judge me for that. He gets more freaked out by staying home alone than I do
(meaning, he gets freaked out when I leave him home alone; lest you be confused, I am perfectly fine
staying by myself), so that clearly tells me he’s not ready to do it for any
real length of time. Ergo he went on the walk to with...and I got one-on-one time with him. Bonus.

4. That the PBA got multiple Snickers bars in their Halloween
candy haul, and that they have yet to notice a gradual decrease in their Snickers-bar supply
(which decreases equally, since I pilfer from both bags simultaneously…have to
keep things “equal” between children, right?). AND the 10yo just confessed
yesterday that he doesn’t even like Snickers. We’re having him tested to see if
there was a mix-up at the hospital when he was born…clearly.

5. The lot in our neighborhood…I LOVE to watch the colors change in
the fall; the heavy, snow-laden branches in the winter; the rebirth in the
spring; and the dense cover provided in the summer.

Yes, clearly this is NOW and not the other seasons...you'll have to use your imagination for them. I know you all have one so use it.

6. That all sorts of searches bring people to my blog. A search
this week was: “Shallow things to be thankful for”. I think I amply cover that,
don’t you?

7. My first published story came out in the mail this week. If
you are so inclined or interested in reading it, you can find it here. See pages 35 and
36. And no, I haven’t read it since I gave it to my editor, because I know
there’s nothing I can change about it now and I undoubtedly would. So if you
see any errors, please don’t tell me.

8. I have yet another story to write for the same publication.
Which also means another interview, but this time the story was my idea. It is
about a young soccer coach (whom my 10yo had when he was 8); he has an A-MAZING testimony,
which I get to share with a whole local readership. Words cannot express how
much I love, admire & respect this coach. I have already done the interview
and set to work on the article; unfortunately it won’t print until late
winter/early spring. Sorry for you that you have to wait that long to read all
about it.

9. The PBA are FINALLY starting to get into music appreciation.
We began the 1950’s this week, hitting it with Elvis (as the boys are quick to
tell you, it’s obviously the pre-1970’s white sequined jumpsuit Elvis), Bill Haley &
the Comets, and Jerry Lee Lewis. The 10yo even ASKED to listen to Elvis during
dinner the other night. I am OVER-THE-MOON.

10. That I had the opportunity to go through Follow the North Star
with my 12yo on Thursday night…this is actually going to require a whole post
at some point. I cannot even put it into words at the moment, as I am still
processing it. But make sure to watch the video you find through the link above;
the only difference in our experience versus the video is that our experience was
at night, in the pitch black darkness with the wide sliver of a moon in the sky.
Goose-bumps. (Oh, and one-on-one time with the 12yo...wow! Two "dates" in one week...pinch me!)

Head on over to Lizzi's page and check out the Blog-Hop to see what others are thankful this week!

Well I can only hope that you covered The Andrews Sisters with them last month, but NOW they're getting into the good stuff :) I look forward to hearing what other musical delights they're going to hear :)

I didn't know anything about that north star experience. I always forget about Conner Prairie. I have never taken my kids there, which is shocking actually. We will so be doing this.I just bought my own bag of snickers when Halloween candy was 50% off. :)

let me add my own congratulatory words and all! how cool, sort of like being in two places at once, isn't it? (I am asking as I have not had anything published, but it should! …feel like being in two places at once!)

good intro… good to have the children learn the classic music first! lol

And I just figured we should start with an appreciation and understanding of music most like what they listen to and then we can work out way into the truly "classic" works of Mozart and the likes. :) We're having a lot of fun with it; between Spotify and satellite radio we have access to so many resources and are blessed to be able to do it easily.

Congratulations on the published work - trying to read it but the site keeps locking up.

I love your music appreciation efforts - there is such good music from all generations out there and I think more kids should know about it. We grew up learning - and loving - lots of current and fabulous "oldies" that our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents knew. I'm loving passing them onto my daughter. She makes the senior citizens in the farmers' market smile when she sings "Daisy, Daisy" or "In the good old Summertime" along with the little carousel ride.

Lizzi was having trouble with the site too...so sorry about that; I'm not sure what the problem is. Thanks for trying to check it out!

I have always loved all kinds of music and it was important to us that we pass that love and appreciation down to our children. It's been so fun to take on...but the 20's were difficult. Not my favorite decade, for sure!

When we were driving home after picking up Lily from the birthday party she attended on Thursday, we had a great view. The sky was black from the clouds, and the moon the perfect sicle-shape. loved it!

The lot next to your is truly beautiful, I hope it stays like that for a while!

Random Stuff About Me

I will be fostering (hence the blog name…see what I did there? No, not just a clever name b/c I am a foster care advocate; this technique is called a double-entendre…look at me teaching so much already. Perhaps I under-estimated myself and my educational abilities...) the woman I feel God has meant me to be: a writer, a sharer, a story-teller, a friend, a listener, a prayer-warrior and lots of other hopefully-funny, silly, and crazy things.